 Alavés were the only club in the first and
second divisions not to pay off their debts with players by the 31 July
deadline, although they will not be relegated as they are in legal
administration, as reported earlier on these pages. The Basque side still owe
around €5.2 million. Valladolid, Celta, Elche, Hércules and several
clubs from the second division B were able to settle their debts on the last
day. (01.08.07) |
| It looks as if second division B side Miapuesta
Figueres will finally be allowed to move to Castelldefels after the Girona
mercantile courts allowed the change to take place. A judge had temporarily
suspended the move after minority shareholders presented a claim to the court,
and a legal administrator had been named pending a final decision. (31.07.07)
|
| Alberto Ruíz-Gallardón, mayor of
Madrid, said that the local council was in conversation with the management of
Atlético Madrid with a view to buying the Vicente Calderón
stadium, as well as adjacent land belonging to a local brewery. The area would
be used to build offices and apartments and a park, and Atlético would
then move in 2010 to a new stadium at La Peineta, using part of the proceeds as
well to reduce their €120 million debt. (30.07.07) |
| Eibar have decided to get as much as possible out
of their first ever derby game against Real Sociedad. The Basque club have
announced ticket prices ranging from 60 euros upwards for their day two clash
with their neighbours at the Ipurua stadium, more expensive than the cost of a
ticket for the European Super Cup between Sevilla and AC Milan this summer.
(27.07.07) |
| Carlos Marsá, president of Granada 74, has
decided to go on hunger strike to protest about the refusal of the Granada city
council to let them use the public stadium at Las Cármenes. Marsá
bought out the rights of Ciudad Murcia, but is currently fighting to obtain
approval from the authorities to go ahead with his project. (26.07.07)
|
| A battle royal is going on at Cádiz
between new owner Arturo Baldesano and outgoing president Antonio Muñoz.
Disputes over bank guarantees and share ownership relating to the share
purchase and sale agreement, transfers of players, television rights and other
issues are still in the balance, and it is not clear whether Baldesano will
really take over in the end. (23.07.07) |
| Only two Spanish based players feature in the top
ten best paid footballers in the world, according to a report in the Spanish
press. Barcelona's Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho are both on €8.5 million,
quite a way behind the €9.9 million and €9.5 million earned by
Chelsea's John Terry and Liverpool's Steven Gerrard respectively. Eight of the
top ten play in England. (20.07.07) |
| The Spanish government unveiled plans yesterday
to help top sportsmen when they retire. Tax breaks will be increased to
€60,000 p.a., and measures will be introduced to help them find jobs,
train for new new challenges and obtain soft loans. (18.07.07) |
| Vitoria based businessman Fernando Ortíz
de Zárate announced that he had purchased the 51% shareholding of
Alavés from outgoing president Dmitri Piterman for an amount of €3
million. The new owner said that he wanted to sell part of his shares to local
fans to avoid a situation in the future where any one person would own more
than half of the club. (16.07.07) |
| Auditors have adjusted down the figures which
were presented by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to their general
meeting. President Angel María Villar announced that the organisation
had made €8.4 million profit, but government auditors confirmed that the
real figure was a loss of around €6.4 million. (13.07.07) |
| Fernando García Macua has been elected new
president of Athletic. The Bilbao based lawyer becomes the 30th incumbent after
beating his nearest rivals by a slim majority, and will be in charge for the
next four years. García Macua will be appointing Joaquín
Caparrós as his coach. (12.07.07) |
| Málaga's shareholders have received an
offer of €14 million from Mexican businessmen to buy the club. The group,
headed by Chivas president Jorge Vergara, said that Málaga president
Fernando Sanz was considering the offer. However it is unlikely that Sanz, son
of ex Real Madrid president Lorenzo, will agree to sell having only acquired
the club recently. (09.07.07) |
| The audiovisual group Mediapro announced that
they have tied up television rights for 39 of the 42 league clubs as from the
2009-2010 season. Only Atlético Madrid, Getafe and Betis have resisted a
deal which the company say will enable them to develop new technologies,
including the transmission of games by mobile phone. (05.07.07) |
| After flirting with the possible purchase of
Cádiz and Xerez, ex owner of Ciudad Murcia Quique Pina has joined
Granada 74, the club which bought out Ciudad's rights to play in the second
division. Pina will be responsible for all the areas related to sports, and has
brought his old sporting director Juan Carlos Cordero with him. (04.07.07)
|
| Málaga announced that they have reached an
agreement with the local council to develop a "sporting city" in the area
around the Martín Carpena sports arena. The zone already includes an
athletics stadium and a swimming pool as well, and the council have granted the
club use of an area of 32,000 square metres. (03.07.07) |
| Alavés have filed for protection from
creditors, in accordance with the Spanish "ley concursal". Owner Dmitri
Piterman reportedly took the step to prevent the club from being relegated to
the second division B for non payment of debts to players, prior to selling his
shares on to a group headed up by businessman Fernando Ortíz de
Zárate. Las Palmas, Málaga and Sporting Gijón have all
taken similar measures in the recent past. (03.07.07) |
| Barcelona have decided to disband their third
team, Barcelona C, after they were obliged to drop to the regional divisions
following the relegation of the B team from the second division B. (02.07.07)
|
| Deportivo opened the way to a large investor
after a recent shareholders meeting agreed to drop the 1% limitation on the
number of shares which can be held by one person. President Augusto
César Lendoiro told a local newspaper that fans had only taken up 8% of
the latest capital increase, and debts had reportedly risen to €28
million. (01.07.07) |
